Reading the House of Hades
by OnlyABookworm
Summary: When the future war needs to become common knowledge (their bored) Hermes and Apollo send back Olympus' heroes.
1. Chapter 1

The Gods and Demigods Read The House Of Hades.

***I OWN NOTHING...RICK RIORDAN DOES***

Chapter 1: The Great Perseus Jackson

Poseidon's POV

IN THE THRONE room we were having their annual winter solstice, with Hades, when a brilliant flash of golden light caught my attention. As the light cleared there were ten people, and a box. When I realized two looked unconscious and sickly pale, I began to wonder who they were even more. Zeus calmed down enough to demand who they were. No one answered. They looked shell-shocked, and tired.

One girl with black hair and electric blue eyes came to her senses first, she had a mixture of black and silver clothing and a diadem on her head. The others clothing hung in strands with smoking holes in them and covered in dirt. The group was an odd mixture. They were all about 13-16 in age. In all there were five girls and six guys.

The girls were completely different, the girl with the bow, one with choppy brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes, an African American with golden eyes and dark brown locks, a girl in a purple cape with a confidant expression, and the girl who was laying on the floor, who was now awake but remained on the floor to support a raven black haired boy who looked as though he had seen better days, had blonde hair and stormy gray eyes that looked broken.

Besides the raven haired boy who was asleep, I hoped, there were, a blonde haired boy with blue eyes, the same a the female in the parka, there was a boy who was milk white pale with dark brown hair that was nearly black his eyes were the same color, a boy whose hands never stopped moving and was covered in grease as well as other suspicious fluids, he also looked like a Latino elf, a Chinese boy with a bow slung over his shoulder. Everyone was speechless and that only made my brother angrier. He demanded their names and business there.

AFTER THE INITIAL shock, a letter fell from the ceiling into Bird Brain's (Athena) lap. "Well, what does it say?" Zeus demanded.

Athena shot a glare and began, "Dear very confused gods and demigods, we have sent these demigods into the past to read House of Hades. They must give you their full title, including their godly parent. Do not allow Percy to say his full title, trust us, you would be there for hours. You cannot kill them or harm them in any way, shape, or form. Happy Reading, The Most Awesome Gods, Apollo and Hermes." Apollo and Hermes high-fived each other, cheering.

"Well get started then." The counsel practically yelled.

THE BOY WHO looked like an elf, stepped up and happily cheered in a way that said 'don't leave me with sugar' "Leo Valdez,the awesome son of the awesome Hephaestus," Hephaestus grinned at that. "Commander of the Argo 2, one of the seven, fire user." To prove his point he lit his hand on fire.

THE CHOPPY HAIRED girl came up next and said, "Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite," Aphrodite smiled proudly at her. "One of the seven, charm-speaker."

THE GIRL WITH the cape stepped forward bowed and stated, "Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Daughter of Bellona, and Praetor of the twelfth legion." At this everyone yelled, "Why is a roman with the Greek?" Piper stepped up and just said that the future was messed up.

THE BLACK HAIRED girl stepped up and announced "Thalia Grace, but if you use that you're gonna die, Daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant of Artemis, Savior of Olympus"

Hades growled, already knowing about her; I stayed quiet knowing I had my own son, I was beginning to wonder if he was in the group.

"But you're a tree!?" said a shocked Zeus with a glaring Hera over his shoulder.

"What Happened to Zoe?" A worried Artemis asked.

"Percy saved me from the tree when it was poisoned. Zoe died when we fought Atlas to save you." Artemis had let go of a tear by this point.

"Who is this Percy it says in the note about him?" I asked. She just chuckled lightly and said you'll see.

THE BLONDE HAIRED boy stood up and stated like Reyna did, "Jason Grace, full brother to Thalia, but son of Jupiter,"

"You had another one!" Hades yelled loud enough the mortals below us should of felt it.

"Ex-Praetor of the twelfth legion. Toppled the Throne of Kronos."

"Why would you need to do that?"

"He came back a year ago?" was the simple answer to the question. Athena dropped it realizing they weren't going to get a straight answer. Her face was so funny, I inwardly chuckled at her.

"One of the seven"

THE CHINESE BOY had stepped forward and simply said, "Frank Zhang, son of mars, Praetor of the twelfth legion. One of the seven." He crept back to where he was sitting. You could tell Ares was stoked. Zeus came back in with a very angry Hera following.

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN girl stepped forward and in a slight southern accent announced, "Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, before you start bickering I was born before the oath was made, Long story. Mist manipulator. One of the seven."

THE MILKY WHITE boy arose and looked directly at Hades, "Nico Di Angelo, Son of Hades,"

"You-" Started Zeus. The boy raised his hand in 'hang on a second gesture'. "I was born before the oath too; I am also the Ghost King."

OF THE TWO still lying down, the blonde stated from down on the floor, "Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, and Architect of Olympus-"

"Why do we need an Architect?" Came from Hera, Annabeth glared at Hera and just said "The second titan war." Then she started to finish her title with, "Survivor of Tartarus-" she again was cut off by the yelling of "What", I was slowly paling at the mention, I had a feeling I knew who the black haired kid was and that they were closer than good friends. She went on as if nothing happened and finished with "One of the seven."

SOON EVERY GOD and goddess in the throne room wanted to know who the last boy was, as he was still sounding asleep. Thalia started arguing with Nico and Jason on who would wake him up.

I thought that was stupid, "How hard could it be to wake someone up" Athena questioned. She was given a very harsh look and they yelled, "Very".

Apparently Jason lost the argument, because Nico said he woke him up last time. He walked cautiously to the sleeping figure Annabeth had reached into his hand and grabbed a pen out of it. Jason walked over to the boy and shook his shoulder barely and the boy jumped up screaming, "You will die, fight me not Annabeth."

While judo flipping him and was reaching into his pocket when he fully awoke. He slowly turned around to see us and his confusion spread. His eyes looked broken you could tell they were once a sea green.

Annabeth whispered something in his ear and he relaxed and said "The name's Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon,"

"You broke the oath," Zeus thundered.

I countered with "You have two in front of you" and he shut up.

Percy continued with, "Savior of Olympus, Survivor of Tartarus," I paled at that.

"Holder of the sky," paled even more at that.

"One of the seven." He was getting many stares that clearly said 'How is he alive'. He then backed behind the blonde girl as if the attention hurt. Athena was calculating the relationship and Aphrodite squealed. I was thinking this was going to be a long day.

Third Person.

THEY OPENED THE package and revealed a book called House of Hades and everyone of the demigods paled, sans Thalia and Reyna. Percy groaned and Annabeth paled thinking what this was about. The gods just stared at the scared demigods. Many freaked out with the looks they were getting so they said to leave so they could finish the solstice. They left with relieved looks.

A.N.

So I was planning on posting three times a week for all my stories but I may have overused the data plan on the wifi for the third or so time, so I have no wifi at home. But we go eat out much so it just means longer chapters. I will update once a week for sure.

DO NOT WORRY, FRIENDS THIS IS NOT THE END.

now I feel really guilty. I did nothing wrong tho, maybe some typos.

My keyboard likes gibberish.


	2. Chapter 2

**DURING THE THIRD attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder **

"Well I have always wanted to know what that tastes like, darn it." Leo complained.

"Then you go eat one, while it's flying at your face."

"Play nice Lieutenant, we don't need anymore injuries."

Artemis said softly.

"He was flirting with me earlier."

"Oh, then go ahead."

"Leo you might wanna run."

Percy was smirking, he'd had somewhat of this experience before.

"Right-o, this is your captain speaking, SOMEONE TAKE THE WHEEL!"

Leo yelled while being shot at by a smirking Thalia.

"Both of you stop, let's just read and get this over with. Thalia you sit by Piper, Leo you might want to sit by Hestia, if that's okay with her."

When Percy finished his commanding speech, he looked up at Hestia for reassurances on if that was okay. She nodded. Leo walked over to the hearth and started tinkering before he even sat down.

"Read on."

Percy relaxed into Annabeth not caring that Athena was glaring. He was just happy to not be fighting.

**She was peering into the fog, wondering how it could be so difficult to fly across one stupid mountain range, when the ship's alarm bells sounded. **

"You didn't tell us about this." Jason accused.

"We're afraid that the small bond we had would unravel further, sending us into disarray," Nico said softly. Jason looked on guiltily. He hadn't forgot about Cupid. When Nico saw the look he had received he sent a glare back knowing exactly what Jason was thinking about.

**"Hard to port!" Nico yelled from the foremast of the flying ship. **

**Back at the helm, Leo yanked on the wheel. The Argo II veered left, it's aerial oars slashing through the clouds like rows of knives. Hazel made the mistake of looking over the rail. A dark spherical shape hurtled towards thought: Why is the moon coming at us? Then yelped and hit the deck. The huge rock passed so lose overhead it blew her hair out of her face. CRACK! **

Percy woke with a start, he had been dosing off, and grabbed his sword, until Annabeth grabbed his hand pulling him down. Shaking her head, he remembered where he was.

"Percy would you like to go to one of the rooms here?"

"Nope, m'fine." Percy slurred, already dozing off again.

"Yea, we'd like to sleep if it's okay with you. Haven't for ages."

"Sorry, did you say we?" Athena questioned, suspicion lining her voice.

"Yes mother, I said we. No we won't do anything does it really look like we could anyhow?"

Now that everyone got a good look at her, she had dark purple circles under her eyes, as did Percy. She looked like she could drop off any moment. Athena growled something under her breath, but told Hermes to take them to a room. Annabeth shook Percy and nearly dragged him out the room.

**The foremast collapsed-sail, spars, and Nico all crashing to the deck. **

Everyone winced.

**The boulder, roughly the size of a pickup truck, tumbled off into the fog like it had important business elsewhere. **

**"Nico!" Hazel scrambled over to him as Leo brought the ship level. **

**"I'm fine," Nico muttered, kicking folds of canvas off his legs. **

**She helped him up, and they stumbled to the bow. Hazel peeked over more carefully this time. The clouds parted just long enough to reveal the top of the mountain below them: a spearhead of black rock jutting from the mossy green slopes. Standing at the summit was a mountain god- one of the numina montanum, Jason had called them. Or ourae, in Greek. Whatever you called them, they were nasty. **

"Aren't all monsters?" Reyna asked?

"I would classify these on another level than your run of the mill monsters." Explained Hazel.

**Like others they had faced, this one wore a simple white tunic over skin as rough and dark as basalt. He was about twenty feet tall and extremely muscular, with flowing white beard, scraggly hair, and a wild look in his eyes, like a crazy hermit. He bellowed something Hazel didn't understand, but it obviously wasn't welcoming.**

"No he wanted to make you tea."

"Really Leo, you can't beat Percy, the sarcasm king. He is so pessimistic. But humorous at the same time. How he does it is beyond me." Nico spoke up.

**With his bare hands, he pried another chunk of rock from his mountain and began shaping it into a ball. **

"Crunch."

"Ares you made popcorn but didn't bring me any?"

"Yes, Apollo, there is SO much action IN THE FIRST CHAPTER."

**The scene disappeared in the fog, but when the mountain god bellowed again, other numina answered in the distance, their voices echoing through the valleys. **

**"Stupid rock gods!" Leo yelled from the helm. **

**"That's the third time I've had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?"**

"Masts are from of trees, boy." Athena lectured Leo.

**Nico frowned. "Masts are from trees."**

The demigods and the immiture gods (Hermes and Apollo) burst out laughing. Poseiden, Zeus, and Hestia smiled. They shut up when Athena glared.

**"That's not the point!" Leo snatched up one of his controls, rigged from a Nintendo Wii stick, and spun it in a circle. A few feet away, a trapdoor opened in the deck. A Celestial bronze cannon rose. Hazel just had time to cover her ears before it discharged into the sky, spraying a dozen metal spheres that trailed green fire. The spheres grew spikes in midair, like helicopter blades, and hurtled away into the fog. **

"Cool!" was heard throughout the throne room.

**A moment later, a series of explosions crackled across the mountains, followed by the outraged roars of mountain gods. "Ha!" Leo yelled. Unfortunately, Hazel guessed, judging from their last two encounters, Leo's newest weapon had only annoyed the numina. **

"Hazel have a bit more faith in me," Leo said faking hurt.

**Another boulder whistled through the air off to their star- board side. Nico yelled, "Get us out of here!" Leo muttered some unflattering comments about numina, but he turned the wheel. The engines hummed. Magical rigging lashed itself tight, and the ship tacked to port. The Argo II picked up speed, retreating northwest, as they'd been doing for the past two days. Hazel didn't relax until they were out of the mountains. The fog cleared. Below them, morning sunlight illuminated the Italian countryside—rolling green hills and golden fields not too different from those in Northern California. **

**Hazel could almost imagine she was sailing home to Camp Jupiter. The thought weighed on her chest. Camp Jupiter had only been her home for nine months, since Nico had brought her back from the Underworld. But she missed it more than her birthplace of New Orleans, and definitely more than Alaska, where she'd died back in 1942. **

**She missed her bunk in the Fifth Cohort barracks. She missed dinners in the mess hall, with wind spirits whisking platters through the air and legionnaires joking about the war games. She wanted to wander the streets of New Rome, holding hands with Frank Zhang. She wanted to experience just being a regular girl for once, with an actual sweet, caring boyfriend.**

"Me too," said all the girls.

"Well minus the boyfriend part, I'm good as is."

Annabeth was lost in thought about Percy falling into Tartarus with her. She kept thinking that it was more than just his fatal flaw.

**Most of all, she wanted to feel safe. She was tired of being scared and worried all the time. **

"Aren't we all." The demigods muttered, but the gods still heard and looked down in shame thinking that they didn't deserve this.

**She stood on the quarterdeck as Nico picked mast splin- ters out of his arms and Leo punched buttons on the ship's console. "Well, that was sucktastic," **

"That's not a word, boy." Athena griped, still angry for thinking like one of the demigods.

"Yes ma'am." Said Leo, mock soluting.

Athena glared at him, effectively shutting him up.

**Leo said. "Should I wake the others?" Hazel was tempted to say yes, but the other crew members had taken the night shift and had earned their rest. They were exhausted from defending the ship. Every few hours, it seemed, some Roman monster had decided the Argo II looked like a tasty treat. A few weeks ago, Hazel wouldn't have believed that anyone could sleep through a numina attack, but now she imagined her friends were still snoring away belowdecks. Whenever she got a chance to crash, she slept like a coma patient**.

"I wish Percy and Annabeth did." Thalia said to the demigods but Hermes heard and tried to listen in better.

**"They need rest," she said. **

**"We'll have to figure out another way on our own." **

**"Huh." Leo scowled at his monitor. In his tattered work shirt and grease-splattered jeans, he looked like he'd just lost a wrestling match with a locomotive. **

"Doesn't he always look like that?" Frank asked.

**Ever since their friends Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, **

"What?" Poseiden and Athena screeched. Athena dropped the book, only to be picked up by Hestia. Both flashed out to their various comforts. Hestia cotinued to read after they left.

**Leo had been working almost nonstop. He'd been acting angrier and even more driven than usual. Hazel worried about him. But part of her was relieved by the change. Whenever Leo smiled and joked, he looked too much like Sammy, his great-grandfather . . . Hazel's first boyfriend, back in 1942. Ugh, why did her life have to be so complicated?**

Leo suddenly asked the gods, "Would it still be demigod life if it was not complicated?"

The gods lacked an answer to that, they really never had seen uncomplicated life, they were gods.

** "Another way," Leo muttered. "Do you see one?" On his monitor glowed a map of Italy. The Apennine Mountains ran down the middle of the boot-shaped country. A green dot for the Argo II blinked on the western side of the range, a few hundred miles north of Rome. Their path should have been simple. They needed to get to a place called Epirus in Greece and find an old temple called the House of Hades (or Pluto, as the Romans called him; or as Hazel liked to think of him: the World's Worst Absent Father). **

Hazel looked down, as did hades. Hazel muttered, "I don't feel that way."

**To reach Epirus, all they had to do was go straight east— over the Apennines and across the Adriatic Sea. But it hadn't worked out that way. Each time they tried to cross the spine of Italy, the mountain gods attacked. For the past two days they'd skirted north, hoping to find a safe pass, with no luck. **

**The numina montanum were sons of Gaea, Hazel's least favorite goddess. That made them very determined enemies. The Argo II couldn't fly high enough to avoid their attacks; and even with all its defenses, the ship couldn't make it across the range without being smashed to pieces. **

**"It's our fault," Hazel said. **

**"Nico's and mine. The numina can sense us." She glanced at her half brother. Since they'd rescued him from the giants, he'd started to regain his strength, but he was still painfully thin. His black shirt and jeans hung off his skeletal frame. Long dark hair framed his sunken eyes. His olive complexion had turned a sickly greenish white, like the color of tree sap. **

"I'm better now, sort of." Nico muttered the last part but Thalia heard him. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. Artemis was looking qquestionatly at her lieutentant, Thalia simply shook her head. Everyone else was shocked at a child of Zeus and Hades hugging. Thalia then cuffed him in the head, saying "You should trust us and tell us. We will listen." Too say the gods were shocked would be inaccurate. Athena flashed back in and took in all their gobsmacked faces and laughed, actually laughed.

**In human years, he was barely fourteen, just a year older than Hazel, but that didn't tell the whole story. Like Hazel, Nico di Angelo was a demigod from another era. He radiated a kind of old energy—a melancholy that came from knowing he didn't belong in the modern world. Hazel hadn't known him very long, but she understood, even shared, his sadness. The children of Hades (Pluto— whichever) rarely had happy lives. And judging from what Nico had told her the night before, their biggest challenge was yet to come when they reached the House of Hades—a challenge he'd implored her to keep secret from the others. Nico gripped the hilt of his Stygian iron sword. "Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true. We get under their skin—literally. But I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. We're carrying the Athena Parthenos.**

"They found it..." Athena carried on with shock.

"Actually Annabeth found it." Hazel spoke softly, thinkinng about the after effects.

**That thing is like a magical beacon." Hazel shivered, thinking of the massive statue that took up most of the hold. They'd sacrificed so much saving it from the cavern under Rome; but they had no idea what to do with it. So far the only thing it seemed to be good for was alerting more monsters to their presence.**

"Be more respectful, young lady." Hazel looked properly chastised.

**Leo traced his finger down the map of Italy. **

**"So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is, they go a long way in either direction." **

**"We could go by sea," Hazel suggested. **

**"Sail around the southern tip of Italy." **

**"That's a long way," Nico said. **

**"Plus, we don't have . . ." His voice cracked. "You know . . . our sea expert, Percy." **

**The name hung in the air like an impending storm. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon . . . probably the demigod Hazel admired most. He'd saved her life so many times on their quest to Alaska; but when he had needed Hazel's help in Rome, she'd failed him. She'd watched, powerless, as he and Annabeth had plunged into that pit.**

Just then Annabeth walked in with red eyes as if she had been crying, followed closely by a rosy cheeked, eyed Percy. Both looked as if they had got no sleep at all or had been plagued by nightmares. It had probably been the latter. Posieden apearently got the memo that everyone was together again because he flashed, took everything going on in, and hugged Percy. That was all it took Percy's mental barriers all came tumbling down. He, Annabeth, Posieden, and Athena all left the throne room again, with Percy in tears.

**Hazel took a deep breath. Percy and Annabeth were still alive. She knew that in her heart. She could still help them if she could get to the House of Hades, if she could survive the challenge Nico had warned her about. . . . **

**"What about continuing north?" she asked. **

**"There has to be a break in the mountains, or something." Leo fiddled with the bronze Archimedes sphere that he'd installed on the console—his newest and most dangerous toy. Every time Hazel looked at the thing, her mouth went dry. She worried that Leo would turn the wrong combination on the sphere and accidentally eject them all from the deck, or blow up the ship, or turn the Argo II into a giant toaster. **

"Again Hazel, don't you trust me?" Leo said only partly playing.

**Fortunately, they got lucky. The sphere grew a camera lens and projected a 3-D image of the Apennine Mountains above the console. **

**"I dunno." Leo examined the hologram. **

**"I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome." **

**No one argued with that. Rome had not been a good experience. "Whatever we do," Nico said, "we have to hurry. Every day that Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus . . ."**

"Must you keep bringing that up? It's depressing, and no action!" Ares complained.

Artemis slapped him in the back of the head.

**He didn't need to finish. They had to hope Percy and Annabeth could survive long enough to find the Tartarus side of the Doors of Death. Then, assuming the Argo II could reach the House of Hades, they might be able to open the Doors on the mortal side, save their friends, and seal the entrance, stopping Gaea's forces from being reincarnated in the mortal world over and over. **

**Yes . . . nothing could go wrong with that plan. Nico scowled at the Italian countryside below them.**

** "Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects us all." **

**"No," Hazel said. **

**"We can find a solution." **

**She wasn't sure why she felt so strongly about it, but since leaving Rome, the crew had started to lose its cohesion. They'd been learning to work as a team. **

**Then bam . . . their two most important members fell into Tartarus. Percy had been their backbone. He'd given them confidence as they sailed across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. As for Annabeth—she'd been the de facto leader of the quest. She'd recovered the Athena Parthenos single-handedly. She was the smartest of the seven, the one with the answers. **

**If Hazel woke up the rest of the crew every time they had a problem, they'd just start arguing again, feeling more and more hopeless. She had to make Percy and Annabeth proud of her.**

"Hazel they already were proud of you." Both Nico and Frank said. Frank gave her a hug. Aphrodite squealed.

** She had to take the initiative. She couldn't believe her only role in this quest would be what Nico had warned her of—removing the obstacle waiting for them in the House of Hades. She pushed the thought aside. **

**"We need some creative thinking," she said. **

**"Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina." Nico sighed. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport myself anymore." **

"Why not son?"

Nico didn't answer but instead said something about pomegranate seeds. If possible Hades paled even more.

"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage," Leo said, "like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds."

He didn't sound very enthusiastic.

**Hazel stared down at the rolling farmland, thinking about what lay beneath it—the realm of her father, lord of the Underworld. **

**She'd only met Pluto once, and she hadn't even realized who he was. She certainly had never expected help from him—not when she was alive the first time, not during her time as a spirit in the Underworld, not since Nico had brought her back to the world of the living. **

**Her dad's servant Thanatos, god of death, had suggested that Pluto might be doing Hazel a favor by ignoring her. After all, she wasn't supposed to be alive. If Pluto took notice of her, he might have to return her to the land of the dead. Which meant calling on Pluto would be a very bad idea. **

**And yet . . . **

**Please, Dad, she found herself praying. I have to find a way to your temple in Greece—the House of Hades. If you're down there, show me what to do. **

Artemis complimented Hazel on her bravery and a small nod of encouragement.

**At the edge of the horizon, a flicker of movement caught her eye—something small and beige racing across the fields at incredible speed, leaving a vapor trail like a plane's. Hazel couldn't believe it. She didn't dare hope, but it had to be . . . "Arion." **

"Percy says he cusses too much."

**"What?" Nico asked. **

**Leo let out a happy whoop as the dust cloud got closer. **

**"It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!" **

**Hazel laughed **

Like everyone else.

** —the first time she'd laughed in days. It felt so good to see her old friend. About a mile to the north, the small beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summit. **

**He was difficult to make out, but when the horse reared and whinnied, the sound carried all the way to the Argo II. **

**Hazel had no doubt—it was Arion.**

** "We have to meet him," she said. **

**"He's here to help." **

**"Yeah, okay." Leo scratched his head.**

** "But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all." **

"Way to put it buntly, Repair Boy."

**"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder." Hazel's heart was pounding.**

** "I think Arion wants to tell me something."**

"Thats the end of the chapter."

A.N.

How's it looking?

Sorry for any typos my keyboard has a mind of its own.

Thanks,

OnlyABookworm


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing! Because I'm not that awesome.

* * *

**HAZEL HAD NEVER FELT SO HAPPY. **

"Really Hazel?"

**Well, except for maybe on the night of the victory feast at Camp Jupiter, when she'd kissed Frank for the first time**

"oh" Frank was blushing.

**…but this was a close second.**

**As soon as she reached the ground, she ran to Arion and threw her arms around him. "I missed you!" She pressed her face into the horse's warm neck, which smelled of sea salt and apples. "Where have you been?"**

**Arion nickered. Hazel wished she could speak Horse like Percy could, but she got the general idea. Arion sounded impatient, as if saying, No time for sentiment, girl! Come on!**

"among other things."

**"You want me to go with you?" she guessed.**

**Arion bobbed his head, trotting in place. His dark brown eyes gleamed with urgency.**

**Hazel still couldn't believe he was actually here. He could run across any surface, even the sea; but she'd been afraid he wouldn't follow them into the ancient lands. The Mediterranean was too dangerous for demigods and their allies.**

The demigod looked down thinking of Percy and Annabeth, it really hadn't been a good experience.

**He wouldn't have come unless Hazel was in dire need. And he seemed so agitated.… Anything that could make a fearless horse skittish should have terrified Hazel.**

**Instead, she felt elated. She was so tired of being seasick and airsick. Aboard the Argo II, she felt about as useful as a box of ballast. She was glad to be back on solid ground, even if it was Gaea's territory. She was ready to ride.**

**"Hazel!" Nico called down from the ship. "What's going on?"**

**"It's fine!" She crouched down and summoned a gold nugget from the earth. She was getting better at controlling her power. Precious stones hardly ever popped up around her by accident anymore, and pulling gold from the ground was easy.**

**She fed Arion the nugget…his favorite snack. Then she smiled up at Leo and Nico, who were watching her from the top of the ladder a hundred feet above. "Arion wants to take me somewhere." The boys exchanged nervous looks.**

"We were worried, the ground did want to kill us, you know."

"Oh how could I forget"

"Just sayin."

**"Uh…" Leo pointed north. "Please tell me he's not taking you into that?" Hazel had been so focused on Arion, she hadn't noticed the disturbance. A mile away, on the crest of the next hill, a storm had gathered over some old stone ruins—maybe the remains of a Roman temple or a fortress. A funnel cloud snaked its way down toward the hill like an inky black finger.**

**Hazel's mouth tasted like blood. She looked at Arion. "You want to go there?" Arion whinnied, as if to say, Uh, duh!**

"among other things."

"Ok we get it Percy says it cusses a lot. You don't have to say it every time Leo."

**Well…Hazel had asked for help. Was this her dad's answer?**

**She hoped so, but she sensed something besides Pluto at work in that storm…something dark, powerful, and not necessarily friendly.**

**Still, this was her chance to help her friends—to lead instead of follow.**

**She tightened the straps of her Imperial gold cavalry sword and climbed onto Arion's back.**

**"I'll be okay!" she called up to Nico and Leo. "Stay put and wait for me."**

**"Wait for how long?" Nico asked. "What if you don't come back?"**

**"Don't worry, I will," she promised, hoping it was true.**

"Don't we all."

**She spurred Arion, and they shot across the countryside, heading straight for the growing tornado.**

"That was a short chapter."

Just then a somewhat refreshed Percy and Annabeth walked back into the throne room hand in hand. Poseidon and Athena flashed back in with understanding, happiness, and something akin to respect.

"What part did we miss?"

Together the demigods were excited to have their leaders back mainly in one piece.

* * *

A.N.

So I meant to put this out yesterday, but I got lazy.

Also this was hard to put talking into sorry, it's short.

Thanks, although I think I'm going to change how I update in May.

For the next chapter I need 4 reviews.

Thanks,

OnlyABookworm


	4. Chapter 4

Bunnymund didn't bring me Percy jackson, so I don't own anything.

* * *

**THE STORM SWALLOWED THE HILL in a swirling cone of black vapor.**

**Arion charged straight into it.**

**Hazel found herself at the summit, but it felt like a different dimension. The world lost its color.**

**The walls of the storm encircled the hill in murky black. The sky churned gray. The crumbling ruins were bleached so white, they almost glowed. Even Arion had turned from caramel brown to a dark shade of ash.**

**In the eye of the tempest, the air was still. Hazel's skin tingled coolly, as if she'd been rubbed with alcohol. **

"You would know that how?" Frank asked worried. But the look everyone sent him made him realize that that question was dumb.

**In front of her, an arched gateway led through mossy walls into some sort of enclosure.**

**Hazel couldn't see much through the gloom, but she felt a presence within, as if she were a chunk of iron close to a large magnet. Its pull was irresistible, dragging her forward.**

**Yet she hesitated. She reined in Arion, and he clopped impatiently, the ground crackling under his hooves. Wherever he stepped, the grass, dirt, and stones turned white like frost. Hazel remembered the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska—how the surface had cracked under their feet. She remembered the floor of that horrible cavern in Rome crumbling to dust, plunging Percy and Annabeth into Tartarus.**

Those said two shivered but remained calm.

**She hoped this black-and-white hilltop wouldn't dissolve under her, but she decided it was best to keep moving.**

**"Let's go, then, boy." Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were speaking into a pillow.**

**Arion trotted through the stone archway. Ruined walls bordered a square courtyard about the size of a tennis court. Three other gateways, one in the middle of each wall, led north, east, and west.**

**In the center of the yard, two cobblestone paths intersected, making a cross. Mist hung in the air—****hazy shreds of white that coiled and undulated as if they were alive.**

Athena realized who she was meeting with a gasp.

**Not mist, Hazel realized. The Mist.**

**All her life, she'd heard about the Mist—the supernatural veil that obscured the world of myth from the sight of mortals. It could deceive humans, even demigods, into seeing monsters as harmless animals, or gods as regular people.**

**Hazel had never thought of it as actual smoke, but as she watched it curling around Arion's legs, floating through the broken arches of the ruined courtyard, the hairs stood up on her arms. Somehow she knew: this white stuff was pure magic.**

**In the distance, a dog howled. Arion wasn't usually scared of anything, but he reared, huffing nervously.**

**"It's okay." Hazel stroked his neck. "We're in this together. I'm going to get down, all right?" She slid off Arion's back. Instantly he turned and ran.**

**"Arion, wai—"**

**But he'd already disappeared the way he'd come.**

**So much for being in this together.**

A roar of laughter ran through everyone, just happy for a change of emotion.

**Another howl cut through the air—closer this time.**

**Hazel stepped toward the center of the courtyard. The Mist clung to her like freezer fog.**

**"Hello?" she called.**

**"Hello," a voice answered.**

**The pale figure of a woman appeared at the northern gateway. No, wait…she stood at the eastern entrance. No, the western. Three smoky images of the same woman moved in unison toward the center of the ruins. Her form was blurred, made from Mist, and she was trailed by two smaller wisps of smoke, darting at her heels like animals. Some sort of pets?**

**She reached the center of the courtyard and her three forms merged into one. She solidified into a young woman in a dark sleeveless gown. Her golden hair was gathered into a high-set ponytail, Ancient Greek style. Her dress was so silky, it seemed to ripple, as if the cloth were ink spilling off her shoulders. She looked no more than twenty, but Hazel knew that meant nothing.**

**"Hazel Levesque," said the woman.**

**She was beautiful, but deathly pale. Once, back in New Orleans, Hazel had been forced to attend a wake for a dead classmate. She remembered the lifeless body of the young girl in the open casket.**

**Her face had been made up prettily, as if she were resting, which Hazel had found terrifying.**

"Why do people dress the dead up anyway? Wouldn't that just make the atmosphere sadder?"

"No, they want them to look their best for their various beliefs and gods."

everyone looked at Nico strange.

"What I am the son of the god of the underworld, there is a lot of death there?"

Everyone just rolled their eyes or face palmed.

**This woman reminded Hazel of that girl—except the woman's eyes were open and completely black. When she tilted her head, she seemed to break into three different people again…misty afterimages blurring together, like a photograph of someone moving too fast to capture.**

**"Who are you?" Hazel's fingers twitched at the hilt of her sword. "I mean…which goddess?" Hazel was sure of that much. This woman radiated power. Everything around them—the swirling Mist, the monochromatic storm, the eerie glow of the ruins—was because of her presence.**

**"Ah." The woman nodded. "Let me give you some light."**

**She raised her hands. Suddenly she was holding two old-fashioned reed torches, guttering with fire. The Mist receded to the edges of the courtyard. At the woman's sandaled feet, the two wispy animals took on solid form. One was a black Labrador retriever. The other was a long, gray, furry rodent with a white mask around its face. A weasel, maybe?**

"That weasel has to eat beans all the time."

Anyone who was on the Argo II at the same time as it agreed. Everyone else laughed.

**The woman smiled serenely.**

**"I am Hecate," she said. "Goddess of magic. We have much to discuss if you're to live through tonight."**

"end of chapter."

A.N.

I said that when I got four reviews I'd publish.

Thanks, I don't know if I'll be able to update this fast again, but I'll try.

Also WhaleThenShark, nicranger, and I am writing a story, it's called Shifting Destinies. It's under WhaleThenShark's profile, if you want to read it.

I'll update with nine reviews.

Thanks.

OnlyABookworm


	5. Author's Note (STILL NOT HIATUS)

This is still not a hiatus notice, but I'm in a brain fart and can't come up with a good storyline to this, give me reviews on what I should do or if you want to be a long term helper PM me.

Also I really want/need a beta, if you are one or know of one that would be interested let me know.

as soon as I get some sort of plot I'll have a couple of chapters done instantly.

Thanks,

OnlyABookworm

PS I have a poll on my profile, please take it if you have time.


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